What is 'in the corner'?

[freeflyit 0]

I'm reading the PD Katana flight charachteristics and came across this phrase:

" Experienced high-performance pilots understand the concept of being “in
the corner,” and know that it is both dangerous and inefficient."

What does this mean exactly?

[Zlew 0]

My understanding is the term came from "Coffin's Corner" used in aviation.

I"m sure some more complex/accurate answers are to come, but the Cliff's notes-

When a canopy dives, it takes time to recover from that dive. There is a point in that recovery where it is difficult or even impossible to recover before a given altitude. That is "the corner". Exaggerated Example- On my canopy if I point it at the ground with a hard turn at 100 feet... i'm going to break into little bits. No amount of rears or toggles will save me. I'm "deep in the corner" and i'm going to hit the ground.

In canopy flight, when you see people turn too low, and dig out with brakes, they are "in the corner" and saving their ass with toggle input (and killing their speed/swoop at the same time). THat's what the article is referring to.

[freeflyit 0]

That's what I thought it was but wasn't 100%. Thanks for clearing it up for me :)

[skow 6]

freeflyit

I'm reading the PD Katana flight charachteristics and came across this phrase:

" Experienced high-performance pilots understand the concept of being “in
the corner,” and know that it is both dangerous and inefficient."

What does this mean exactly?

You can take it directly from the sentence above. It is the point that recovery from it " (...) is both dangerous and inefficient."

This strongly depends on the canopy you are using (e.g. recovery arc)

[raymod2 1]

I visualize "the corner" like this:

Imagine a side view of your swoop. Draw a vertical line from your initiation point to the ground. Now draw a horizontal line from the previous point to where the swoop ends. This is an imaginary flight path that is not possible under a parachute because of the sharp 90 degree bend at ground level (the corner). Your actual flight path during a normal swoop will be a smooth curve that never gets very close to that corner. When you finish your turn too low or you delay the recovery (for example when you are too close to the gate and you don't want to miss it) then your flight path will bring you closer to that imaginary corner. You can only get so "deep" in the corner before an impact with the ground becomes inevitable.

[freeflyit 0]

Thanks for the responses :)

[flyfastc 0]

This attachment should help you understand

[Zlew 0]

pic is worth 1000 words!

[Mej 0]

The free canopy piloting book by the BPA explains it pretty well -

Pic attached.

http://www.bpa.org.uk/assets/Training/Canopy-handling/cpmanual.pdf

[raymod2 1]

I just want to add that these descriptions of the corner are a simplification of a complex process. It's not just how high you start your turn or even how high you finish your turn that determines the safety and performance of your swoop. I've seen swoops where the jumper finished his turn higher than intended and still impacted the pond. Every canopy (and size and loading) is different but swoopers typically need to provide some input during the rollout. The type of input, amount of input, and timing of the input are all variables that need to be considered.